Indeed, during this ongoing health crisis, those affected by emotional, behavioral and psychiatric disorders tend to be more numerous than those affected by COVID-19. However, as the world authorities seem to focus on the infectious aspect of the pandemic, a rise has been observed in mental health disorders ( Brooks et al., 2020 Holmes et al., 2020). In many places, means of transportation were shut down, public spaces were closed and only essential services kept functioning albeit with restrictions and preventive measures. et al., 2020), Italy ( Briscese et al., 2020), and the United Kingdom (UK) ( Holmes et al., 2020), for example, carried out strict “lockdown” regulations, while other countries, including the United States of America (US) ( Imperial College of London, 2020) and Brazil ( Simões e Silva et al., 2020), have delivered “stay home” recommendations. Restricting measures have been implemented in several countries as an attempt to slow down the dissemination of the SARS-CoV-2. At the present, statistics taken from the WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard by September 5th announce 26.5 millions of confirmed cases worldwide, with over 871 thousand deaths ( World Health Organization, 2020c). Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines indicate that by January 14th 2020, 1 day after the first recorded case outside of China, only 41 cases were confirmed ( World Health Organization, 2020b). Subsequently, the illness caused by this virus was termed Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It was then discovered that the infection was caused by a virus, named SARS-CoV-2. In December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases was reported in the province of Hubei, China ( Lu et al., 2020).
Moreover, it is fundamental that the population is provided with accurate information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial that the health authorities, the government and the population articulate to assist the vulnerable groups and promote emotional and psychological support strategies.
We also discussed several measures that might minimize the emotional impact derived from this scenario. These include the healthcare professionals, elderly individuals, children, college students, black subjects, latin and LGBTQ+ communities, economically disadvantaged groups, the homeless, prisoners, the rural population and psychiatric patients. Moreover, we explored in depth the groups at increased risk of suffering mental health burden secondary to these circumstances. We also approached the key components of the emotional reaction to the pandemic, how internal and external factors, such as personality traits, gender, the media, the economy and the governmental response, influence the social perception of the pandemic and the psychological outcomes of the current scenario. This review aimed to analyze how human behavior has changed throughout this period.
Aiming to contain the spread of the virus, leaders of many countries restrained social movement, targeting to flatten the curve of contamination with social distancing. Due to its fast dissemination, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic in March 2020. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019 prompted consternation in many parts of the world. Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Medical Investigation, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil.Ana Luisa Pedrosa †, Letícia Bitencourt †, Ana Cláudia Fontoura Fróes, Maria Luíza Barreto Cazumbá, Ramon Gustavo Bernardino Campos, Stephanie Bruna Camilo Soares de Brito and Ana Cristina Simões e Silva *
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